The hall is still empty, a few wisps of cold wind are blowing outside, and the people who speak in the hall are a little desolate in their hearts.

"Since the rebellion of the Barbarian State in June last year, my Shizong Kingdom has been forced to lose 5,000 soldiers and pay 100,000 stone grain and grass.

But the fighting became increasingly fierce, with hundreds of thousands of people fighting on both sides of the front line, and hundreds or thousands of people were dying every day.

Coupled with the deliberate consumption of the Barbarian Country, the 5,000 soldiers and horses of our Shizong Kingdom have only been on the front line for half a year, and more than half of them have been killed and wounded, and the losses are extremely heavy.

But even with such dedication, the barbarian country is still not satisfied.

At the beginning of this year, an envoy was sent to our country to demand the conscription again. He demanded another 10,000 men from the country, and 200,000 stone of grain.

Those soldiers on the front line of my war, but they haven't come back yet?

The Barbarian State sent people to collect it again, and the amount was doubled.

How can a small country like us withstand such conditions?

In the end, the lord of the country tried his best and spent a lot of money to bribe the important ministers of the barbarian country to persuade the lord of the barbarian country. Only then was the original quota reduced to 5,000 people and 100,000 stone of grain according to last year's example.

But even so, two times before and after, my master has sent out 10,000 people and 200,000 stone of grain, and this price is still too great.

To this day, the war on the front line is still ongoing, and many of the 5,000 people sent by our country to serve in the past have died. The remaining men who served in the two previous and second periods together were only 4,000 remaining.

My master is only a small country, and the people of the whole country are only 80,000. 6,000 people died at once, and it can be said that every family in the country has brought filial piety.

Moreover, there are 10,000 young and strong men, and the country's middle school and agricultural work in the past two years have also been greatly affected. It can be said that the harvest has been halved, or even halved.

And the grain stored in the country has sent away 200,000 stones, which has already cleaned up the grain storage of the people in the country.

Now that a year has passed, at the beginning of this year, the envoy of the Barbarian State who came to demand the payment of money and food for military service will soon come again. But in the situation in our country, how can it withstand the reminder?

If you really have to pay this service, I'm afraid that Shizongguo will also die. ”

When the envoy of the Shizong Kingdom said this, he was already in tears, his expression was sad and resentful, and he continued with red eyes: "There is no way, my country has to find another way.

At this time, I happened to hear about the prestige of the king.

Moreover, my Shizong State and Chu State have always been adjacent to each other, and they have long had exchanges, not those Yi people who do not admire the king at all.

So he moved his mind and sent a minister to ask the king for attachment.

If the king is willing to take it in, then my master and the country will be led by Da Chu for generations, and he will worship him every year, and he will never dare to disobey. ”

And when he had said that, the man bowed down.

The envoy of the Milu Kingdom next to him also bowed down and said, "The same is true of the Milu Kingdom. I just ask the king to take me in and save me from fire and water. This great kindness and great virtue dare not be unforgettable in Milu Country. ”

Looking at the envoys of the two countries who fell to the ground in front of him, Lu Yuan fell silent.

Although the words of the envoys of these two countries are pitiful and indeed touching, it is not a trivial matter whether to save them or not.

First of all, the envoy of the Shizong Kingdom has already made it very clear.

Although the Great Changhe Kingdom fell into civil strife, whether it was the Great Changhe Kingdom, which ruled the Kunhai region, or the Wubarian State, which was engulfed by the Seven Kingdoms of Lingdong and the rebellion of the Nongdong Kingdom, its strength should not be underestimated.

There are tens of thousands of soldiers and horses on both sides, including tens of thousands of elites. More importantly, both countries have innate grandmasters, and there is no shortage of top-level combat power.

In this way, there are no obvious shortcomings in the upper and lower levels, and it is not so simple to defeat them.

The Great Chu State is next to the Great Changhe Kingdom, and it is very simple to meddle in the internal strife of the other party.

But after intervening, it is not so simple to want to withdraw your hands back, or to make the war stop according to your own wishes.

With the strength of these two sides, if Chu wants to defeat either side, it actually has this ability. But it's hard to say how much it will cost to defeat the other side.

First of all, in this kind of war to destroy the country, at least you will have 100,000 soldiers and horses, right?

Moreover, the other party has an innate grandmaster, so the army on his side naturally has to be equipped.

Otherwise, if you send troops over in such a hurry, wouldn't it be like that great Changheguo?

Under negligence, there was no innate grandmaster in the army, and he was directly found by someone, and he lost his armor and lost his armor, and the whole army was annihilated.

That was the loss of a hundred thousand troops, and Lu Yuan's Great Chu State could not afford it.

So if you really want to intervene, the innate grandmaster is a must.

But in this way, there is only one innate grandmaster left in the Great Chu country.

An innate grandmaster, looking at the three counties of Jiangnan and Jiangbei, almost thousands of miles, is a little reluctant, to be honest.

And at this time, the country will transfer another 100,000 troops, so there will be only 140,000 remaining soldiers and horses.

An expedition almost drained nearly half of the strength of the Chu State.

Now that the state of Chu has just changed its name to Jianyuan, the relationship with the state of Ning is still extremely tense, and at the same time, the surrounding countries are also eyeing each other, it is really too dangerous.

And that's just a danger to the country's preparedness.

Let's talk about the expedition.

Even if the State of Chu can draw out 100,000 soldiers and horses, and the probability of leading the army is still Lu Yuan, even this combination of elite soldiers and strong generals does not mean that if you go out to conquer the Great Changhe Kingdom, you can successfully defeat the other party, expand your territory, and destroy the country.

With the strength of the Great Changhe Kingdom and the Wu Barbarian Country, they may be on the battlefield head-on, and they are not the opponents of Lu Yuan's army.

But if these people are bent on defense, or simply take advantage of the location of the vast mountains in the southwest to fight with him.

Then Lu Yuan wanted to pacify these enemies, but it was not so simple.

This war of annihilation of the country is possible for two or three years, or even four or five years, or ten years.

This is all precedent.

In the past, when the Jinling court headed by the Linhai family expanded to the west and south, the local barbarian, Miao, Qiang, Yue and other ethnic groups used this style of play.

At that time, the Jinling Imperial Court did not have a good way to deal with this, so it had to send generals to suppress it, and at the same time live with heavy troops, so they desperately consumed each other.

When the Jinghai Kingdom was destroyed the month before last, led by the Marquis of Wu An, two grandmasters and 100,000 troops were dispatched, and they also fought for three or four years, and Chai broke through the capital of the other country and destroyed the country?

And even if the country is destroyed, it is not the end.

Later, Wuping Hou Xie Ning had to be left behind, so he led 50,000 elite soldiers to suppress the local area, so as to clear the remnants of the Jinghai Kingdom in various places and quell the local riots.

But even so, it has been five or six years since the Jinghai Kingdom was destroyed.

But according to the news that Lu Yuan heard from there, in Jiuzhen County, there are still some rebellions in the local area from time to time, and there are often remnant activities of Jinghai Country in the mountains and forests, and local resistance still exists.

From this point of view, it is easy to destroy the Great Changhe Kingdom and the Jinghai Kingdom, which are razor and barbarian countries, of course, if you want to occupy the territory of the other party and really rule the other party, it is not so simple.

The simplest example is that the Miao people have been kings for thousands of years.

But on the side of Dongting County, didn't it still brew a rebellion of the Five Poisons Sect, which almost dealt a fatal blow to the Dayue Dynasty?

The lessons of the past are in front of us, and the example of Jinghai Kingdom is still being staged, which naturally has to make Lu Yuan cautious.

Of course.

The premise of the above is that he is ready to destroy the Great Changhe Kingdom, so he has to face the situation.

If it is just according to what the envoys of Shizong and Milu said, accept these two countries as vassals and shelter them, then the above situations naturally do not need to be faced.

And the reaction of the Great Changhe Kingdom and the Barbarian State?

With the situation in these two countries, not to mention that they are still in the midst of civil strife, they have no time to take care of themselves.

Even if there is no rebellion in the Great Changhe Kingdom, with the size of the Great Chu State and the prestige of Lu Yuan, even if you accept your two vassal states, what can you do?

Is Da Chang and Guo really willing to risk losing their teachers and land for the sake of these small two countries and start a war with Da Chu?

In the end, there is a high probability that it will not be resolved, condemn two sentences, and then acquiesce to this fact.

But as mentioned above.

In terms of Shizong and Milu, the combined territory is only seven counties, and the people are now only 140,000, which can be described as poor to death.

And even with such a little family background, it is still someone else's.

These two countries just promised that they were willing to vassal Dachu and make offerings every year.

But how much silver can they offer in a year when they are a country, and the two of them are combined?

Five thousand taels, eight thousand taels, or ten thousand taels?

With such a little benefit, raising a hundred soldiers is enough, is it really worth Lu Yuan to risk going to war with the Great Changhe Kingdom and the Barbarian State to accept these two countries as vassals?

So for Lu Yuan.

It is indeed possible to collect dogs.

But it doesn't do much good, but it will attract two strong enemies, which is completely more than worth the loss.

He really decided to do it, not for these two small countries, but for the entire Great Changhe country.

If you can really destroy this country and collect its two counties, three or four million people, and thousands of miles of territory, that is the real great benefit, and it can raise the strength of Chu to a higher level.

Destroy its country and destroy its worship. punish its monarch and collect its people. raze the land and build its domain......

All of the above is what the big husband does.

Taking advantage of the civil strife in others, secretly taking in two vassals, taking such a little advantage, how can he be called a hero?

Anyway, Lu Yuan thinks that he is a hero in this world.

What others think and how to do it, he doesn't know.

But if you want to do it yourself, you have to make it big.

Either you don't want it, or you want it all, what are the two kingdoms of Xiaoxiao Shizong and Milu, if he wants to take it, he will take the entire Dachanghe country, and take away the twenty-seven Yi countries under his rule.

In this way, it is written in the history books, and it is also the destruction of the Great Changhe Kingdom and the destruction of the country by 27.

Isn't it better than taking advantage of the chaos and taking advantage of the domestic annexation, which looks better and sounds better?

But do what you said above, a hero is a hero, domineering is domineering, and it sounds good.

But if you want to get real benefits, it's not necessarily as simple as it says.

The previous concerns are still there.

The Great Changhe Kingdom and the Barbarian Country are not so easy to destroy.

It's hard to beat just one.

At that time, in the face of the heavy army of Great Chu, if the two countries join forces, in the face of the two innate beings, even Lu Yuan will not dare to say that he can defeat the other party.

This is not impossible.

So after comprehensive consideration, after careful consideration, Lu Yuan did not make up his mind whether to wade into this troubled water.

In the end, I had to look at the envoys of the two countries and said: "You are the feudal country of the Great Changhe Country, and it is a matter of this big country, so everything must be cautious." Whether to accept Shizong and Milu and the two domestic attachments, Lone still has to discuss with the ministers before there can be a decision.

It's not too late today, the post house of Honglu Temple has prepared a room, and the two messengers will go down to rest first. ”

After speaking, Lu Yuan waved his hand and asked people to retreat.

When the envoys of the two countries saw the king of Chu, they did not immediately agree to their request, and they were also a little anxious.

They are in dire straits at home, and they will be forced by the barbarian country at any time. If it is delayed for one more day at this time, the country may have to bear the danger of annihilation.

Where can this be waited?

"King!"

The envoy of Shi Zongguo was in a hurry, so he wanted to come forward and persuade him a few more words.

However, not only did he not run twice, Lu Yuan looked at him with a cold gaze.

Facing the majesty of an innate grandmaster, an immortal cultivator, a battlefield warrior, and the king of a country, this envoy could not bear it in an instant.

I only felt like falling into an ice cave, and a tremor of the soul rose in my body.

Under great fear, he instantly recognized the reality and knelt down.

"Emissary, pay attention to identity."

At this time, Lu Yuan's voice also sounded at the right time: "What the lonely king decides, this is the business of the lonely king." Even if it concerns your two countries, you don't have the right to talk much.

Lonely let you wait, you just wait.

Don't have superfluous thoughts and actions, otherwise you can't bear the consequences. ”

The words fell, and footsteps rang out.

While the envoy of Shi Zongguo trembled in his heart, he also felt that the terrible cold had disappeared.

After waiting for a while, I raised my head, only to find that the terrible King of Chu had disappeared.

It's just two envoys from small countries.

Give them face and call your country's envoy. But if you don't give face, it's not the tribal leader under a few tribal chiefs.

The identity of this envoy, converted to the territory of Dachu, is only a county-level official, not a first-in-command, but an eight- or nine-grade petty official under the county order.

At this level of status, he also wanted to hold the King of Chu and make Lu Yuan stop and listen to him say a few more words.

This can only be said that he is really a barbarian, he has no respect for the law, he is used to being wild, and he has to be governed.

……

After sending away the envoys of Shizong and Milu, Lu Yuan didn't care much about them.

The next day, he discussed this matter with Sun Siwen and Cui Changqing, and asked if the current finances could support a war of 100,000 people?

As a result, the reply was that the imperial court could not come up with money to fight. Just raising those 240,000 troops is extremely laborious.

Not to mention that there is now one more water master, which is another gold-swallowing monster.

In terms of grain, with the gradual recovery of local production in Dongting County in recent years, grain output in various localities has increased year by year. The imperial court was able to harvest a lot of grain every year, which was enough to be self-sufficient.

And the Su and Nanhai countries will also send four million stone of grain every year.

This amount is calculated according to the consumption of grain and grass by an army of 200,000 in a year.

Of course, when a large army goes on an expedition, it also needs people to transport grain and grass. The people who carried grain on the road also had to eat a lot.

But in general, the four million stone grain aided by the two countries is enough for 100,000 troops to fight a year's war. In terms of food, there is no need for additional expenditures from the imperial court.

At present, the only difficulty of Chu State is that there is still no money.

Because the army is fighting abroad, the military salary in wartime and the military salary in peacetime are different, and they will rise by half. Moreover, the loss of various types of ordnance is also large, which needs to be replenished in time, which is also a large expense.

An army of 100,000 fought for a year, and in addition to the original fixed expenses, the additional expenses during the war would be 3 million to 5 million taels of silver.

The imperial court could not afford this expenditure.

In other words, if Lu Yuan really wants to fight, he can indeed fight, but this extra military expenditure has to come out of his private small treasury.

He could get the money.

After several previous expenses, Lu Yuan's private treasury now has about 12 million taels of silver left, which can support the additional expenses of the army for three or four years.

And three or four years later, Da Chu has been financially balanced. These additional expenses can be topped by the assistance of the two countries in the South China Sea and Ninghai.

It can also fill this hole.

But this money was used by Lu Yuan to meet his needs.

At this time, it is used to crusade against Dachang and the country, if Dachu starts a war again, or if there is any other urgent use, then there is really no money.

So after thinking about it, this decision is still a little difficult to make.

Seeing that Lu Yuan was a little embarrassed later, Sun Siwen made another suggestion.

That is, to cut the salaries of local government and county soldiers.

In the entire territory of Great Chu, whether it is the local county government and county soldiers, or the central forbidden army of the imperial court, the Jinwu guards of the capital, and the palace guards of the palace, they are basically paid five taels of silver per month.

This salary is very reasonable, and the soldiers of various countries are basically in this position, so there is nothing to say.

But the problem is that now after the reorganization, the soldiers of Dachu have already been undertaken by the central forbidden army, and the soldiers of the local county governments have theoretically separated from the ranks of the soldiers.

You have to say that the county soldiers of Xichuan and Xiangyang counties bear the pressure of both the north and the west, and they always have the need to fight with other countries, and the risk is greater, so give them a salary of five taels of silver, which is acceptable.

But the county soldiers under the county soldiers, this is a pure security force, at most they are used to defend the city, and they rarely have the opportunity to go to the frontal battlefield.

It is very unreasonable for them to enjoy the same salary and treatment as soldiers under the pressure of their duties.

Sun Siwen wanted to say it before, but he never had a chance.

At this time, I seized the opportunity and finally said what I thought.

"The local government and county soldiers, according to the practice of various countries, are all paid three taels of silver a month.

The monthly salary is three taels of silver, and in the locality, it is already comparable to those masters with old skills, and the salary is not low.

If the county soldiers can be reduced by two taels of silver per month, then the 34,000 county soldiers of Dachu can save 68,000 taels of silver per month, and 816,000 taels of silver a year.

And that's just the monthly salary.

According to the usual practice, during the New Year's holidays, the army will also issue some savings, and some subsidies for grain, oil and cloth.

These are not small expenses in a year.

If the settlement subsidy of those prefecture and county soldiers is lowered from the specifications of the soldiers, it can also save eighty or ninety thousand taels of silver a year.

In this way, the reduction of the military salaries of these prefecture and county soldiers can reduce the financial expenditure by 900,000 taels a year, to say the least.

Whether this money is used by the king to raise more soldiers and horses, or to build more roads and canals in the local area, it can play a big role.

There's no need to waste it here. ”

Speaking of this policy of treating everyone equally, Sun Siwen's face was a little swollen, and he obviously hated it.

It's a waste of money!